AGENDA

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING LEUCADIA WASTEWATER DISTRICT Tuesday, August 29, 2017 - 9:00 a.m.

1960 La Costa Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92009

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Public Comment

4. New Business A. Review the final draft of the Summer 2017 Newsletter. (Pages 2-10)

B. Community Open House Event Update (verbal)

5. Information Items None.

6. Directors' Comments

7. General Manager's Comments

8. Adjournment

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Ref: 18-5545

DATE:

TO:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

MEMORANDUM

August 24, 2017 ~ a Community Affairs Committee /

Paul J. Bushee, General Manager tv<--- Q, J L-­Summer 2017 Newsletter Draft Layout Reiew

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff requests that the Community Affairs Committee (CAC):

1. Review the draft layout for the Summer 2017 Newsletter; and

2. Discuss and provide direction, as appropriate.

DISCUSSION:

Ref: 18-5549

During June 2017, Rising Tide Partners (RTP) developed a list of story ideas for the Summer 2017 Newsletter. During July and August 2017, draft text was prepared and then presented to the CAC and staff for comments.

Comments by the CAC and staff have been incorporated into the proposed draft newsletter layout. RTP and staff will present the proposed newsletter layout at the CAC meeting.

Attached please find the draft layout for the Summer 2017 Newsletter for your review. Staff requests that the committee review the proposed newsletter and provide comments as appropriate.

Attachment

th :PJB

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Downstream Summer 2017 Newsletter

LWD Leadership Judy Hanson, President

Elaine Sull ivan, Vice President Allan H. Juliussen, Director

David Kulchin, Director Donald Omsted, Director

Paul J. Bushee, General Manager

LWD Open House - Saturday, September 23, 2017 Over the past year, we've been working to create more channels of communication with the most important people to us - our ratepayers! Our public outreach efforts have been directed at ensuring you know what's happening with the District and how it might impact your daily routine, as well as delivering updates on our work and staff's professional development. At the end of the day, seeing is believing, so we're excited to take our outreach efforts to a more personal level and invite YOU and your family to come out for some food and fun, and to learn about the ways Leucadia Wastewater District and some incredible

loca l organ izations work to protect our watershed - from our neighborhoods, to our lagoons, to our beaches. We're excited to host some ofourfellowwastewater agencies, non-profit organizations, and local businesses at 1960 La Costa Avenue, Carlsbad, CA on Saturday, September 23rd from 1 O am - 2 pm. We'll have a fun filled day for you and your family including tours, equipment demonstrations, food, prize drawings, and giveaways. You'll get to see a demonstration of our pipe cleaning technologies, and learn about what we think is the best job around - protecting our neighborhoods and beaches from sewage spills!

Featured Booths

IWV _ LEAGUE OF ".J;i._OVe a,Cfean ~ L~ WOMEN VOTERS8 t5wn/I>igj?

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CITY OF ENCINITAS

Clean Water. -~ -.. llASF9 (o~SULllNG ~~ WEST C OAST S A f" ltTY n

S UP,.LY CO ~ Program --:;;. Munk:lp;,.IWn1ccrOls1rlet

Special Thanks to Our Amazing Event Sponsors and Participants! Opus Bank • Starbucks • Palomar Water • Wildcoast • Olivenhain Municipal Water District Encina Wastewater Authority • I Love a Clean San Diego • Shell/Circle K • Gelson's • Evoqua Bataquitos Lagoon Foundation • Southern Engineering • Base9 Consulting • City of Encinitas

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Lateral Grant Program Beneath your house is a pipe that delivers your wastewater to our sewer main, cal led a lateral line. Below is a graphic detailing the key parts of a lateral line.

Homeowners are responsible for maintaining and repairing their lateral up to the point where it connects to the sewer main. To help lower the cost of maintenance, LWD offers a grant program that will reimburse 50% of the repair cost, up to a maximum of $3,000. For more information on our Lateral Grant Program, please visit lwwd.org under the Customers tab.

Sewer Service Fees & Two New Ordinances We're excited to announce that as part of our Fiscal Year 2018 Budget our rates will remain the same at $28.64 per month for a single-fami ly home. We're particularly proud of this as it is a reflection of careful management of our assets and financial resources. Our ratepayers are the ones who benefit the most, as our service area continues to have one of the lowest sewer rates in San Diego County!

The District recently revised two important ordinances that impact fees we may charge customers. Any new homes or businesses need to pay a one-time capacity fee when connecting to our sewer system. We recently reviewed the Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) factor and capacity fee schedule to ensure compliance with current laws. No changes were made to the capacity fee per EDU rate. The second ordinance updated the District's administrative citation process and added fines for illegal dumping into the sewer system.

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Fines for Illegal Dumping From November through June, we had 3 incidents where pool installers disposed of their wet concrete and pool plaster down their customers' cleanouts. Our Field Service Technicians later found the hardened concrete in our sewer lines during their inspections and removed it. Each time we find and remove obstructions like this, it costs the District about $4,000 in labor, materials, and equipment-use, not to mention the potential for large regulatory fines to our District if there was ever a sewage spill.

As of July 2017, we will begin ass·essing the following fines to anyone found to have illegally dumped waste into the sewer system:

Illegal Dumping Fines

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Hardened pool plaster removed from LWD sewer pipes.

Only You Can Prevent Sewer Blockages Our Field Services team continues an impressive volume of monitoring and clean ing work throughout our sewer pipelines. However, in the course of this work, we've found some recurring problems that could have quickly escalated into sewage spi lls.

In addition to pool construction waste, the major offenders continue to be wet wipes, rags, other debris flushed down toilets, and buildups of FOG (fats, oils and grease) dumped down kitchen drains. The map below shows "hot spots" for grease buildup, pump stations that are regularly clogged with wipes and rags, and pool plaster locations:

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Facility Improvements

Capital projects to improve our infrastructure are integral components that ensure the safety and integrity of our sewage system. Below is a recap of two recently completed capital infrastructure projects:

Leucadia Force Main Replacement One of our larger pipeline projects this year has been the Leu­cadia Force Main West Section Replacement project. Testing by our project team uncovered significant internal corrosion in a section of this older 24" metal pipe. This section of pipe was dug up and replaced with high grade plastic pipe (PVC), along La Costa Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and the 1-5 Freeway. A portion of the pipe was relocated further away from the Batiquitos Lagoon to protect it from the slow erosion of the bluff. We project that this new pipeline will last over 50 years.

Village Park 5 Pump Station Another significant project completed this summer was the replacement of the Village Park 5 (VPS) pump station. Originally constructed in 1974, it is located in the City of En­cinitas on the west side of Encinitas Boulevard, just south of Willowspring Drive. In 2014 we completed a pump station assessment and VPS was scheduled for replacement due to its age, the fact that spare parts are no longer available, and to provide a safer working environment for staff. The new VPS is easier to maintain and operate, and it's more energy efficient.

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The Force Main Project Team lays down a 24" diameter PVC pipe along La Costa Avenue. Made of chemically stable polyvinyl chloride, the new pipeline will last 50+ years.

Saving Money From the Sun

In order to save money and reduce emissions, we have purchased and installed over 400 solar panels on our administrative and operation buildings, as well as our pump stations. In addition to enabling us to gen­erate some of our electricity from the sun, this invest­ment allows us to change and reduce our SDG&E rate structure. The District is currently completing a project to separate the administrative and operations electri­cal meters from the pumping facilities, qualifying the District for lower electrical rates. A new rate schedule means potential savings of nearly $35,000 per year and is projected to pay for itself in under 3 years.

Reducing electricity rates and utilizing renewable energy is good for our ratepayers and good for the planet. It will help lower our operating costs, so we can continue to offer one of the lowest sewer rates in San Diego County!

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Teacher Grants A mainstay of our public outreach efforts continues to be helping our teachers educate local kids. Two local teachers received grants this spring to help enhance their educationa l plans:

El Camino Creek Elementary School students learn about capturing and reusing rainwater.

Functional Food Production Garden Curtis Fillmore - La Costa Canyon High School

Students of La Costa Canyon High School came together to build an on campus garden, educating students about food production and sourcing. In collaboration with the culinary arts program, these efforts provide hands on education about sourcing local and organic spices and foods, the fundamental aspects of composting and gardening, and mentor students with special needs.

LWD's Driving Safety Record A large part of running a wastewater agency that covers an area as large as Leucad ia's involves vehicles, and lots of them. Every day we navigate the cities with a variety of vehicles, many carrying specialized equipment and supplies to keep the District's pipelines clear and maintained. These vehicles are heavy and not always the easiest to drive, sometimes requiring special training and experience.

That is why Leucadia Wastewater District is proud to say that we have a 3-year record in driving safely w ithout a vehicle accident. Through proper training, safety procedures, and monitoring, we're able to help significantly reduce road mishaps and equ ipment damage, saving us time, money, and frustration. We are very proud of our district's field staff, whose ca re and dedication while performing maintenance and inspections throughout ou r community has led to our excellent safety record.

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Rain Garden Educational Pathway Jenny Smith - El Camino Creek Elementary

With a plan to clean up their watershed, over 20 students at El Camino Creek Elementary applied to win a grant to help redirect water and stop debris from flowing off a hil lside and plugging up parking lot drains. This project will help educate the 700+ students from El Camino Creek about how to prevent ocean water pollution by utilizing natural resources.

Pages

Recycled Water We are one of ten water and wastewater agencies wastewater reuse projects from Del Mar to Oceanside and collaborating to increase the amount of recycled water east to Escondido. By working together, these agencies produced and distributed in North San Diego County. As a are demonstrating a commitment to provide a reliable, group, we're working at the regional, state and federal level drought proof source of water for the region and reduce to provide the following benefits to North County. The discharge of wastewater into the ocean. The coal ition Coalition has received $4.95 million to develop integrated includes the following agencies:

North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition Recently Approved for Federal Funding

Coalition Objectives ,r_. \ o .

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J. Produce 72 MGD of recycled water \~ Improve 9 treatment plants Q Create 7 potable reuse plants

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{:ff) Create 7,000 jobs ~b9:1 Construct 90 miles of recycled water pipeline (I

LWD's System Overview

3.9 million gallons of waste- • 5,000 manholes e) 18 miles of pressurized

water per day treated

214,000 gallons of recycled water per day produced

62,000 people in 16 square miles

Facilities Overview Gafner Water Recycling Facility

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Pump Stations include Rancho Verde, Village Park (2), Encinitas Estates, Diana,

Avocado, Batiquitos, Saxony, Leucadia, & La Costa

j> ' pipelines

200 miles of gravity m 1 o pump stations fed pipeline

19 Employees t . 0 J 1 Recycled Water Treatment Plant

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Semi-Annual Performance 2134 days of no lost work 706 million gallons treated

38 .7 million gallons recycled 137.6 Miles of Pipe Cleaned 39.6 miles of pipe inspected

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Standout Achievements: Staff Awards and Professional Certifications

A highly professional organization attracts the best and the brightest in its field . We're fortunate to celebrate these individ­uals, and the collective ach ievements of the people who make LWD run as wel l as it does. We'd like to share some of the impressive achievements of our staff from the Winter and Spring of 2017.

Rick Easton won the Ca lifornia Water Environment Association Operator of the Year, at both the

San Diego Chapter and State level

The District won the California Association of Sanitation Agency's

Small Agency Public Outreach and Education Project of the Year

Award.

The District won the California Water Environment Association's San Diego Local section 2016 Community En­

gagement & Outreach Project of the Year Award

Hugo Gonzalez earned the California Water Environment

Association's Collections System Maintenance Grade 2 Certification

The District won a Certificate of Award for Outstanding Financial Reporting from the California So­ciety of Municipal Finance Officers

(8th yea r).

One year without a sewer spill

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Curney Russel earned the California State Water Resources

Control Board's Treatment Operator T1 Certification

Duuirt of Olrtincrion Re-iartdiution

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The District was recertified as a District of Distinction by

the California Special Dis­tricts Association

No vehicle accidents for three years

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LEUCADIA WASTEWATER

DISTRICT 1960 La Costa Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92009

Downstream Summer 2017 Newsletter

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